Steven Taylor warns Newcastle's promotion rivals

Steven Taylor has warned Newcastle's rivals that the best is yet to come

Taylor is convinced Newcastle are only going to improve in the second half of the season, even though they are already 10 points ahead of second-placed West Brom.

Unbeaten at home so far this term, St James’ Park has become something of a fortress and, with 25 points out of a possible 27, Newcastle are firmly on course for an immediate return to the Premier League.

The dark days of last season seem a long way off now, as Chris Hughton has moulded a side which is defensively sound and has developed the priceless knack of winning when not at their best.

Sunday’s victory over the freefalling Middlesbrough was the latest example of that ability and again it was centred around a rock-solid defence which has leaked just four goals at home so far.

But any suggestion that the club are about to take their foot off the gas with such a hefty lead can be discounted according to Taylor, who claims he is looking for even better in the new year. He said: “We are getting there but I don’t think we have hit top form yet by any means .

“As long as we win the Championship, I don’t care about how many points we get . I will only be delighted if we go up as champions . I’m not interested in second.

“I still think there is more to come from this side and there is more in the tank. There have been games where we’ve been poor but we have still got the right results.

“In this league you have to grind results out, especially away from home. The fans might not like the football but they will have to deal with it because we are just interested in getting results . It doesn’t matter how we get them.

“The best is still to come and I hope the results in the second half of the season will show that. As long as we get the three points every time we play I don’t care.

“If you ask me the question, ‘Do I think we will get better?’, yes I do think we will – but I’ll be happy with 1-0 wins for the rest of the season.

“Arsenal built a side around doing exactly that and I would take that all day.

“I know the fans want to see great football but I hope they realise it’s difficult when teams face us with two banks of four players trying to frustrate us.”

Taylor has been the bedrock of the Magpies’ defence which, on the evidence so far, will be crucial in powering Newcastle back to the top flight.

Against Boro on Sunday they endured a couple of scares but, once Shola Ameobi netted a second goal, the result was never in doubt.

Taylor said: “The fans can see the desire we have got to keep clean sheets and we’re all putting our bodies on the line.

“We’re all prepared to do whatever it takes. We help each other and that’s why we are top of the league.

“I’m just happy when we keep clean sheets because that means we haven’t lost and that says to me you are halfway there.

“We have such belief in ourselves that we believe we can beat any side . That is the mentality. It doesn’t matter who we play against, we feel we can beat them.

“Away from home we go after teams, whereas our biggest problem last season was losing too many games on our travels. We conceded too many goals but we have now put that to bed. We have a good, strong team and we are physically better. The pre-season games put us in good stead because we got battered in a few matches so we knew what to expect in the Championship.”

As well as defensive solidity, manager Chris Hughton has two strikers in top form right now, as Ameobi and Marlon Harewood have started 14 league games this season, scoring 11 goals.

And that suggests Hughton will move heaven and earth to try to extend Harewood’s loan deal to beyond the end of this month.

Taylor added: “We have shut the back door and we know we have got the quality up front. The midfield can also get a few goals, as Kevin Nolan has shown all season.

“We have pace and delivery from the wings and Danny Guthrie’s ball for the second goal against Boro was absolutely fantastic.

“That is the quality we bring and I think teams are nervous of what we can do in attack.

“If you speak to opposition players, they say we are the best team they have faced all season. That’s a compliment for us.” ‘I will only be happy if we are champions’

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